Three alleged bag lifters who used to commit the crime by throwing itching powder on their victims have been arrested, police said today.
The accused have been identified as Ram Singh (35) from Allahabad, Rajesh (37) from Patna and Bijender Singh (27) from Agra.
They were arrested by the Central district police on Tuesday when they were fleeing after robbing two brothers.
The victims-- Gaurav Uppal and Saurabh Uppal-- had gone to Bazar Sirkiwalan with Rs 1,16,000 to make payments to shopkeepers. Around 6.00 PM, while they were near Hauz Qazi Chowk, somebody put a powder on Gaurav's neck after which it started itching.
"On this, the gang members approached Gaurav and suggested him to wash his neck at a nearby tap. As he kept the bag containing the money near the tap and started washing the neck, one of the three accused picked it up and passed it on to another who started fleeing with it," said Additional Commissioner of Police (Central) Alok Kumar.
The brothers then raised the alarm and tried to chase the accused. Hearing the chaos, three policemen rushed to the spot and nabbed all the accused and recovered the bag, which had Rs 4500 left in it after making the payments, said Kumar.
During investigation, it came to light that the gang used to target victims at crowded places like commercial markets and railway stations.
